David's First Derby Car

Tonight we had the official Weigh-In for our Cub Scout Pack's upcoming Pinewood Derby. Having never done a derby car myself when I was in Scouts, this would be my first time as well as David's. The rules are very specific about what the car can and cannot have, weigh, measure, and so on. Being firsties, I was concerned that I would miss some detail that would mistakenly disqualify David's car. Thankfully in the end I had little to worry about.

I was responsible for actually creating the shape of the car, so I left it up to David on what he wanted it to look like. He chose a pickup truck. So, with a few quick cuts on a hand saw and some buzzing from a sabre saw, we had our shape. The design came next, also David's directive. He chose color from permanent markers, with flames decorating the sides and bed of the truck. He also asked that I draw two round headlights and two red tail lights on the pickup too.

After that was done we had to attach the wheels. It was then we discovered that one of the "axles" - aka "nail with round head" - was incorrect for the application. Since we can only use parts from the kit that is assigned, I had to consult with the Pack leader to figure out what to do. The 'what' turned out to be an extra axle from an unused kit. Once home, I inserted each axle through the Officially Sanctioned Scout Wheels and lightly hammered each axle into the pre-cut axle slots in the wood block. After that I applied wood glue to the slot and tried moving it around the nails with a toothpick. Once it dried the axles seemed to be pretty secure; they even endured a couple of drops on a hard surface.

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At the sign in event after our Den meeting we finally got to see what other designs people used for the their cars. The variety was astounding, and included entries shaped like candy bars and bath tubs! There was even a steam train. One leader asked her son, "do you even care about winning?" He replied "No, I just want to run." I think that's where it's at really, but there were still examples of cars that were hyperfocused on getting down the track faster than anyone else. Personally I have more fun seeing and experiencing the cars with freestyle creativity than the tightly-wound race-bred derby cars that will probably win.

David's truck weighed in at 96 grams at the "garage table." Racing weight for these cars is 142 grams; cutting the big chunk of wood out for the bed left quite an impact, but it's easily fixed with adding weight back onto the truck. One of the leaders hot glued a strip of lead to the bed, and three massive washers to the undercarriage. That achieved the 142 gram racing weight exactly. David's truck was signed in, weighed in, and given number "T-5." It then went on a tray along with all the other cars signed in at the event.

They all now wait for the race on another night! To be continued...